Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay) London Philharmonic Orchestra & Andrew Gourlay

• Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883): Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay):
• 1Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): I. Prelude to Act I12:56
• 2Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): II. Good Friday Music06:22
• 3Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): III. Transformation Music06:06
• 4Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): IV. Prelude to Act III06:12
• 5Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): V. Prelude to Act II02:26
• 6Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): VI. Transformation Music06:00
• 7Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay): VII. Finale07:11
• Total Runtime47:13

Info for Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay)

In this world-premiere recording, Andrew Gourlay conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in his new Parsifal Suite, a deftly constructed concert piece of orchestral highlights from Wagner’s Parsifal, published by Schott Music.

Gourlay has sought to encapsulate Parsifal’s main orchestral elements into a seamless suite, resulting in a sumptuous 45-minute work that allows Wagner’s exquisite music to be enjoyed in a new way.

"Parsifal undoubtedly contains much of Wagner's most significant orchestral music, yet there is currently little exclusive orchestral material available for concert performance. For this reason, I began to construct an orchestral suite that would give us more time to immerse ourselves in the music of Parsifal. The result is 45 minutes of continuous music from the opera.

From the opening upbeat, we arrive at the grandeur of Act 3 Scene 1, the Good Friday music in which Parsifal is anointed King of the Grail. A solo oboe leads us through the following passage of gentle strings and woodwinds, accompanying Parsifal as he admires the beauty of the woods and meadows shining in the morning light. With the sound of the midday bells, Wagner's actual transition to the second scene begins, in which the forest scene dramatically transforms into the great hall of the Grail Castle. The knights approach from all directions, carrying the wounded Amfortas and a coffin containing Titurel's body. We come to the prelude of the third act followed by the prelude of the second act, the "Magic Castle of Klingsor". This is followed by a scene change from Act 1, in which Gurnemanz leads Parsifal through the rock walls and the forest (as in Act 3) magically transforms into the great Grail Hall. We return to Act 3 for a brief transitional passage (for timpani, soft wind instruments and strings in pizzicato) that accompanies the ominous figure of Parsifal as he emerges from the forest, fully cloaked in black armour. This passage leads us to the final scene and the natural ending of the opera. Parsifal holds aloft his sacred spear with which he has healed Amfortas. He takes the Grail, which shines brighter and brighter, and brandishes it in blessing. "Highest salvation miracle!"

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrew Gourlay, conductor

Andrew Gourlay
Born in Jamaica, with Russian ancestry, Andrew Gourlay grew up in the Bahamas, Philippines, Japan and England. A trombonist and pianist by training, he studied conducting at the Royal College of Music, where he prepared Bruckner symphonies for Bernard Haitink and Mozart symphonies for Sir Roger Norrington. He was selected by Gramophone magazine as their ‘One to Watch’, and by BBC Music Magazine as their ‘Rising Star: great artists of tomorrow’.

Andrew Gourlay won First Prize at the 2010 Cadaques International Conducting Competition, securing concerts with 29 orchestras around the world. For the next two years he was Assistant Conductor to Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra. In 2015 Gourlay took up the position of Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (OSCYL), having been their Principal Guest Conductor since the 2014/15 season, and celebrated the orchestra’s 25th anniversary in 2016/17.

Guest engagements include conducting the Philharmonia, the BBC orchestras, London Philharmonic, RLPO, Hallé, CBSO, Opera North, RTÉ Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, Bremen Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Norrköpping Symphony, Tampere Philharmonic, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, Australian Youth Orchestra, orchestras throughout Spain and the London Sinfonietta at the BBC Proms. He made his US debut in 2016/17 with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and returned to the USA in 2018 to conduct the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. He returned to the Proms in 2018 to conduct a special concert in celebration of the 40th anniversary of BBC Young Musician. Guest engagements since 2020 include a visit to the Enescu Festival with the Britten Sinfonia, and concerts with BBC NOW, BBC Scottish Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta, Belgian National and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestras. He returned to the Proms in 2022 for a televised concert with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He returns to Germany in 1922/23 for a tour with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and concerts with the Bremer Philharmoniker.

Operatic engagements have included the UK premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Quartett for the Royal Opera House. He has conducted Rusalka and La Tragédie de Carmen for English Touring Opera, and The Marriage of Figaro at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. In 2015 he conducted Tippett’s The Ice Break to great critical acclaim in a new production by Graham Vick for Birmingham Opera Company and the CBSO. He conducted Huw Watkins’ In the Locked Room with Britten Sinfonia in Wigmore Hall in November 2021 and returned to the Aldeburgh Festival in June 2022 to conduct the world premiere of Tom Coult’s opera Violet. In spring 2023 he will conduct The Cunning Little Vixen for Opera North.

Andrew Gourlay has conducted recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Symphony, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The first own-label OSCyL disc of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2 and The Isle of the Dead was released in spring 2019 to critical acclaim, and has been followed by Shostakovich 10 in 2021. His orchestral suite from Parsifal was released in November 2022 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Orchid Classics.

Booklet for Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay)